londonjaz

Firstly, Hi! I've been looking at this forum but only today signed up!

I am 31 looking to relocate to Toronto.

I have been visiting for most of my life as I have 2 uncles (mums bro's) and cousins etc.

Having recently come over in July (yes i know the weather was nice!) I decided to look at a relocation/work stint in Toronto as I am growing more and more tired of living in London.

Potentially I was thinking of coming over in the new year firstly to experience the winter and also try and secure a job

Has anyone done this or have any advice on if this would work?

AdrianR

OK, you said nothing about what line of work you are in, nor your immigrant status, but ask yourself this...

Would you expect to find a job, interview for it and make a start in 4 weeks or less in London? Bear in mind that your potential employers may have to jump through a few legal hoops if they want to employ you.

I tried this for five months last year - to no avail - for professional, mid-level management positions.

Make a cuppa' tea and read this, following the links as required.
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Quick_...uctions-Canada

londonjaz

Thanks for the reply

I have been working as a recruitment consultant up until a year or so ago and since I have been setting up a used car business in London.

When I left recruitment things were slowing down and now I am finding the car sales are also drying up!

In Canada I would look to go into a recruitment role, either account management, sales, business development but wouldn't limit myself to recruitment if the right role came along.

Recruitment can be a funny industry and I'm probably sure I could get hired as quick as I would be fired!

I am a UK citizen and have no Canadian Visa so would be looking for a job using a tourist visa hoping to return once a job has been secured.

AdrianR

Well...your confidence is admirable Good luck!

A few things to bear in mind...
* It is reckoned that around 80% of vacancies are 'hidden' - ie: you will only get to hear about them via networking.
* A potential employer will have to file an application for an LMO if they want to employ you - this takes time and means the job has to be advertised for a minimum of 14 days AND the employer will have to justify the hiring of a foreigner AND explain why no suitably qualified Canuck was found or could be hired.
* Any job you go for on a tourist visa will have to be at NOC Skill Level 0, A or B in order for the employer to be able to hire you.
* Why return once you have a job offer? It takes time to secure PR with a job from outside the country - far better to secure your job offer then get a 1 year Temp. Work Permit at the border.

Did you read the Wiki? Unless you've been offered a job already or know folk who could offer a job then it's gonna' be hard - not meaning to rain on your parade but it's tougher than one might reasonably expect.

And please note - I didn't say 'impossible' ...just difficult.

christmasoompa

Not correct, he can apply for (and get) any job on a tourist visa and it can be any skill level. Of course, if he wants to apply for PR as a Skilled Worker at a later date, then the job must be Skill Level A, O or B to qualify, but there are no restrictions on what kind of job you can apply for when on a tourist visa.

But even assuming that the OP just goes on a TWP, there's no way he'll be able to do that within a month so he'd have to return to the UK whilst the LMO is being processed anyway.

OntarioBound

My 2 cents worth....

Get your CV & covering letter ready now and start applying for jobs now. Indicate in your covering letter your plans regarding LMO etc - perhaps state if you are or are not looking for sponsorship. also let the employers know your plans with regards to visiting for the purpose of interview etc. Do this now.. spend some time getting your name about.

It can take the various employers a week or two to get to your CV by which time you won't be all that far away from landing and will be ripe for an interview.

Proof being in the pudding and all..... I did this, and it actually went one better... I sent CV's to jobs on www.kijiji.ca then after an interview via email etc i was offered a job only 3 days later...

yesterday i was informed my LMO has been granted - next stage TWP then apply for perm status once i land

I am a web developer by the way..

So it's all possible. Just start now.. !!

YYZlover

As ontariobound said - get your resume together. Get used to calling it resume and not CV already now. That's the word Canadians use.

Your cover letter should be targeted for the job. Don't just write a blanket cover letter. Change it according to each position you apply for.

But first - go to the wiki on here and look up how to Canadianise your resume. This is vital. Fact is that I have found that the canadianized version of the resume has helped me secure jobs here in Sweden.

Plenty of people told me that you must never go beyond 2 pages on your resume. I had a meeting with a recruiter who told me to take that and shove it. As my work experience is varied and long as an arm (quite literally) it covers 3 pages (and still a bunch is left out) + cover letter.

I also change my resume according to what job I apply for.

Some people also say that you don't have to put in your cover letter that you are not in Canada. I followed that rule and had no response. Then I started breaking the rules, used humor but still professional, was dead honest about my location, used a "tone" that is common in the profession. Suddenly I started to get responses. And not one but 3 companies have said they were interested. One offered a job almost instantly (contract signed yesterday - LMO application goes in today). The other two want to meet face to face. All three familiar with hiring foreign workers.

So read the wikki, follow the rules but be prepared to break them. You already work in recruitment so you know what to do but don't stick to tradition. I stuck to the swedish way and that didn't help me at all. I needed to get a good slap around the head to wake up and as I said, it worked for me here too.

OntarioBound

To go a little further too, use all the time you have now to get everything ready for your visa application. I.E police check, copies of education etc etc. any time spent now will reduce the running around when your there that way when topic get your LMO you may be able to do a flagpole trip and get your visa. thus you could move out there and get your job all sorted within the month

londonjaz

wow thanks for the input, it has given me something to think about and plan for!

I have been applying for the odd job on monster.ca but when I got a "can we meet you in 2 days" email I realised it would be easier if I am there.

If anyone else has any suggestions it would be much appreciated

YYZlover

I'm in entertainment. I find most jobs on craigslist. One, of the previously mentioned 3, I found already in september and had a response in half an hour. That was the first time I broke the rules. They were interested. A month later they reposted (new boss) so I applied again including the history of emails with old boss. Got a response "can you come in tomorrow at 2pm for an interview". I pointed out yet again that I'm not in Canada. So when I had a firm offer from another company and told these guys about it the response was "can we skype tonight". The third wasn't advertised nor an inside hint. Just me doing my usual "oh why not give it a shot" and it worked too.

So out of three complete and total rule breaking applications I had one interested, one firm offer and one where the door is still open should the one I accepted not work out in the long run.

All fond remotely and in the span of a couple of months.

To flip it around to what you plan to do. I went over in 2008 for a conference and a job interview. The latter never happened but I ended up staying for 6 months. I had two interviews in that time. One through a recruiter (i got as far as the top 3) and on where I was offered a job only to have it pulled two days later. And that was just at the end of my visitors visa expiring. Needless to say, I had to go back to Sweden.

You may or may not be able to find a job in the month you plan to be there. But as others have said, when you have set dates for going, ship those applications out a week or two before you go, personalize them to each job, make sure they are Canadianized and tell them when you are going to be there and available for interview. Don't just use Monster. Use Craigslist, Kijiji, workopolis, jobbank. (Google is your friend). If you have an iphone, there is a free iphone app for canadian job force which taps in to jobbank.

Good luck!